Welcome back, Tiger.
A low-key Tiger Woods strolled unexpectedly onto a practice golf course in Augusta, Ga. on Sunday. While the Masters tournament begins on Thursday and Woods has a Monday afternoon press conference, his hushed Easter Sunday arrival took everyone by surprise.
Perhaps not a surprise: his wife Elin hasn't yet joined him in Augusta for the big comeback week. On Friday, the 30-year-old took her son Charlie, 13 months, to a Key Biscayne tennis match, and lunched with famed tennis player Roger Federer, his wife and their two kids. That same day, Tiger was photographed picking up their daughter Sam, 2, from school near their Windermere, Fla. home.
Elin has not been seen wearing her wedding ring since her husband's infidelity scandal unfolded late last November. But a source recently told UsMagazine.com that she will "possibly" support her husband in Augusta should he make it to the final rounds.
According the the Associated Press' Sunday reporting, Woods gave a "playful jab" to two friendly reporters, shot the breeze with fellow golfer Paul Casey and Jim Furyk … and shared a "long embrace" with Mark O'Meara, another competitor.
"I haven't seen him since July," O'Meara told the Associated Press. "I love that kid. I understand what happened and it's not a good thing that happened…[But] he's my friend and I care for him." The older player added, "I told him out there, 'This is the place where you belong. This is what you love to do.'"
Update: On Monday, when Woods practiced before a crowd of paying spectators, he was greeted by "mild applause," the New York Post reports. Fans yelled "Welcome back, Tiger. We missed you," provoking Woods to smile.
